Joint Sick Leave Exchange Program

Purpose

To provide sick leave for all unit members who experience serious personal illness, injury or quarantine or who must use leave to care for a family member who experiences such illness, injury or quarantine and who have used all of their accrued sick and personal leave. Such leave may be donated or exchanged between staff in accordance with the following procedures and restrictions.

Policy

Sick leave may be exchanged under the following conditions:

Certificated employees may donate their sick leave days to other CCPS employees, both classified and certificated and may receive sick leave donations from any CCPS employee. Sick leave will be donated and credited to the recipient according to the number of hours in the donor’s normal workday. [classified employees normally donate 8 hours, teachers would donate 7.5 hours- donation from one group to another would be credited as the work day for that individual receiving the donated day and the workday from the person donating the day would have deducted their normal work day hours]

Sick leave may not be exchanged for the following: – To obtain cosmetic or elective surgery unrelated to the advancement of treatment for a certified medical condition. – To provide leave status for staff under suspension or other absences as a result of disciplinary action.

Sick leave may not be exchanged for absences compensated for by Workers Compensation or disability retirement or insurance.

Sick leave will be donated in whole days only, but it may be used in increments like normal sick leave as needed by the recipient.

An employee must have at least 20 days of accrued leave in order to donate to another employee and must have at least 15 days of accrued leave remaining following the donation.

The maximum limit for use of donated sick leave by any one employee per occurrence or illness shall be the number of days in that employee’s regular contract year. This limit can be extended upon approval of the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.

Staff may not participate in the leave exchange program under the following conditions: – When the employment of either the person receiving or providing the leave has been or is recommended for termination. – When the employee is a substitute or employment is contracted at an hourly or daily rate. – When, following a joint investigation by the EACC or AFSCME and the Board, it is determined that the program has been abused or its rules have not been followed.

Both EACC/AFSCME and non-EACC/AFSCME members may exchange sick leave under the provisions of this program.

All sick leave donations may be subject to periodic review and updated medical documentation may be required in order to secure continued approval.

Spouses who are both employees of the Charles County Board of Education may donate sick leave to each other without restriction, for personal or family sick leave.

Administration

This program will be administered by the EACC or AFSCME and adhered to the following procedures:

Requests for exchange from all unit members will be submitted to and reviewed by the EACC/AFSCME in accordance with the previously stated rules and forwarded to the Board of Education for review.

The Human Resources Division will receive and review all leave exchange decisions and notify the Budget and Finance Division to take action when an exchange is approved.

Exchange requests will be made in writing from EACC/AFSCME to the Office of Human Resources at the Board and must be accompanied by a leave request form from the staff member providing the leave and a doctor’s certification verifying the medical condition necessitating the leave. To receive credit for payment of salary, the request must be approved and processed two (2) weeks or more of the pay date.

Donated sick leave will be credited to the recipient’s sick leave balance immediately upon approval by HR, and will be reflected on the recipient’s pay check stub in accordance to payroll deadlines. The leave will be available for the recipient to use as he/she would use his/her normal sick leave.

When a question with respect to the rules occurs, the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and the EACC or AFSCME will adjudicate the dispute. No action will be taken on an exchange request until both parties come to agreement over the dispute. Disputes that are irresolvable will not be arbitrated.

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